The Veils of May(a) 2012

Now the bright morning star, day's harbinger,
Comes dancing from the east, and leads with her
The flowery May, who from her green lap throws
The yellow cowslip, and the pale primrose. 
Hail, bounteous May, that doth inspire Mirth, and youth, and warm desire; 
Woods and groves are of thy dressing, 
Hill and dale doth boast thy blessing, 
Thus we salute thee with our early song, 
And welcome thee, and wish thee long.  

~ John Milton  1645

The month of May is ushered in with a promise of new life as the rising Sun continues its northern journey warming the freshly planted fields with its gentle rays. The glorious Sun is at its midpoint between the Vernal equinox and Summer solstice, a celestial station called the cross-quarter in many traditions and celebrated with fire rituals and fertility rites such as Beltane.  The lily of the valley is the flower of May as its spring blooms brings sweetness and happiness.  In Christian lore it is  associated with the tears of the Virgin Mary as well as the tears cried by Eve as she was kicked out of the Garden of Eden.  This sweet flower is also known as Jacob's tears or "ladder to heaven."  Strange allusions for a flower associated with happiness.

The Julian calendar was established in 45 BC and the month of May was called Maius, which may be named after the Roman goddess Maia.  Maius also means "larger, greater" and expresses the concept of  fertility and growth of both the season and the goddess.  The spring goddess was honored by the Romans on May 1st and 15th with an offering of a pregnant sow which signified the two faces of Mother Nature: -- one nurturing as each sow may birth anywhere from 6-12 piglets, and the other, wild and uncontrollable as sows are known to eat their young.  The Roman Maia was paired with Vulcan, the god of the underworld, because they were deities associated with heat and warming.  The warming breezes of spring fostered flora to grow, while the summer heat, ruled by Vulcan, brought ripening and harvest of crops. Ancient Greek farmers were cautioned not to sow grain before the time of her setting, or conjunction with the Sun, which may refer to the star Maia of the Pleiades located at 18 degrees Taurus that began to disappear in the rays of the Sun during the first days of spring in Age of Aries.   Strangely enough the precession has this conjunction occurring currently in the month of May when the Sun transits the nakshatra associated with the Pleiades, Krittika, from approximately May 11 - 25, and absorbs its dahana shakti, the power to burn and purify. 

In Greek mythology Maia is one of the seven daughters of the Titan Atlas and the ocean nymph Pleione. These mountain nymphs of Arcadia, Sterope, Merope, Elektra, Taygeta, Celeno, Alcyone, and Maia all had violet-colored hair and were immortalized in the stars as the constellation Pleiades after committing suicide upon hearing about the death of their father.  It is an interesting coincidence that the lily of the valley has a cluster of white flowers that resemble little stars.  Maia was the eldest and most beautiful of the Arcadian nymphs.  According to Hesiod's Theogony, Maia shared the sacred bed of Zeus and gave birth to Hermes (Mercury), the messenger god.  Hermes was also the god of commerce, the god of fertility, the creator of magic, and the psychopomp -- the guide to the underworld.  Thus Maia,  and the month May, are connected with all these themes -- but especially magic and fertility.

In Sanskrit the word maya is often described as the veil of illusion, but it is also the principal female deity that manifests, perpetuates and governs the dream of duality in the material universe: Maya Shakti.

Maya is one of those active powers: the constant movement of the universe, pervasive to the atomic level. There is no life -- no existence, even -- without Maya, but she is so powerful that we cannot see the essence of things and mistake her movement for reality. For this reason, Maya is often called "the veil of illusion," the dance of multiplicity that distracts us so that we cannot see all matter as essentially identical. Illusion, however, as the sages have stressed, is not the same as falsehood. Maya is not a negative force, but can be a mesh through which we perceive the ultimate reality of existence -- if we are not distracted by her magnificent creativeness and complexity.  Unknown Author

The astrological line up for May 2012 may be full of Maya's creative distractions.  There is an incredible stellium of planets in the fixed sign of Taurus which will focus a lot of energy on the illusion of material comfort and prosperity.  As I have described in previous posts, Venus has been transiting the sign of Taurus since March 28, 2012.  During the first week of May it will be at its brightest -- its greatest illuminated extent in the Western evening sky.  Taurus is a powerful sign for Venus as its earthy energy is able to manifest the planet's creative impulse on the physical plane.  Venus in Taurus brings comfort and ease to life.  But as I mentioned in my last post, the luminous Evening Star has been followed by a "moon shadow," the south node, Ketu, whose energy of dissolution is unpredictable and can trigger upsets in the status quo.   When the two conjoined on April 11, 2012, six (the number associated with the planet Venus) large earthquakes shook the globe, including an 8.6 and 8.2 in Indonesia.

In addition, Venus is also on her journey of  transform from Evening Star to Morning Star during which time she appears to make a descent into the underworld, like the Sumerian goddess Inanna, setting in the West as the Evening Star and then rising again in the East as the Morning Star.

Along her path in the netherworld, Innana-Venus must pass through seven gates.  She is required to remove an article of clothing at each gate until she is completely naked, exposing her bright beauty to the darkest realms.   This descent begins on May 15, 2012 when she stations and turns retrograde at the 29th degree of Taurus -- the anaretic degree associated with an urgent need to correctly utilize the energy of that planet.  This degree is serious and indicates a narrow path. The following day Saturn, the lord of boundaries, will also be at 29 degrees in Virgo as it continues its retrograde motion shining brightly in the night skies.  Then on May 17, 2012 Jupiter will enter the sign of Taurus and bring its power of expansion and opportunity to the table.  Venus is supported by the big guys.

Although the classics consider retrograde planets to be stronger under reverse motion, they are still operating in a different mode that may cause a disturbance to their usual field of influence.  Moreover, energy slows down and becomes more internalized.  Astrologically, Venus represents how we get what we want and the nature of the love we receive. When this power is afflicted, relationships may loose some of their spark, communication may not be as sweet, or or we may not be able to get what we want as easily as when the planet is direct. When Venus is retrograde, it is a great time to turn our relationship radar inward and reassess any problems, differences, or unresolved issues.  So as the ruler of love and material security reverses direction, our boundaries around relationships and money are tested. Venus retrograde may bring events that inspire us to re-evaluate the conditions of our relationships or revise our financial plans, but as Lynn Koiner suggests, it is not a time to make any changes:

You become readily aware of any problems, differences or unresolved issues. It is NOT a time, however, to act upon any unfavorable awareness. It is purely a time of evaluation rather than direct action. As little frictions and disagreements crop up, they serve to remind you that the relationship is not perfect. Under the retrograde influence, you must assess the severity of the problem and the “cost-benefit” of the relationship. Only after Venus turns direct should you initiate any alienation if this is deemed necessary.

Moreover, the upcoming Venus retrograde takes place under the obscuring influences of two eclipses:  an annular solar eclipse on May 20, 2012 and a partial lunar eclipse on June 4, 2012.

May's new moon in Taurus receives the subtle shakti of the Pleiades from the nakshatra Krittika, but it is disturbed by Ketu's presence in the shadow released during the annular eclipse on May 20, 2012. (For a great video click here.) Its dahana shakti, the power to burn and purify, may become exaggerated under Ketu's fiery glance from Rohini.  Many astrologers assert that Ketu is debilitated in the sign of Taurus as the bull's accumulating nature is counter to the south node's impulse to dissolve and release spirit from its involution in matter.  Thus this Ketu solar eclipse in Taurus may cause discord in relationships, already pressed by Venus in retrograde motion, and downturns in financial markets.

Fortunately there is grace present as Jupiter enters Taurus three days before the first eclipse.  Many astrologers view Jupiter's sojourn into Taurus as beneficial creating prosperity and expanding "bull" markets.  Some even call Jupiter in Taurus the millionaire-maker.  However, the nodes are powerful and can disturb even the most beneficial of planets.  As my teacher used to say, when an eclipse occurs all the stars come out during the day, meaning that all the hidden issues that are always there beyond our immediate consciousness may suddenly appear.  Eclipses magnify the shadow issues underlying our illusions and amplify the emotional drama of our misconceptions and disagreements.  But an eclipse is also an opportunity to look at these hidden issues and collective denial, such as global wealth and debt issues, and shift course. 

June begins with a partial Rahu lunar eclipse of a debilitated Moon in Scorpio/Jyestha with Ketu in Taurus/Rohini followed by the astronomical event of the year: a vary rare transit of Venus across the face of the Sun on June 5-6, 2012.  Depending on your location you may see the transit either as her last steps as the Evening Star, or first steps as the Morning Star.  Most of North America sees the beginning of the transit in the afternoon and evening on June 5, whereas much of Eurasia sees the ending of the transit in the morning on June 6.  As Venus Morning Star is historically related to the goddess of war, those countries who first witness her in the morning may be the sites of future conflict.

Although Jupiter and Mercury will also be nearby, they will be hidden behind the rays of the Sun and unable to touch Venus with their direct glance.  With so many planets connected with "consciousness" lined up and in combustion with the Sun, Venus is left alone to receive the Earth's full attention.


As Venus passes between the Sun and the Earth, its movement is in essence very similar to a lunar eclipse.  So in a way we will be getting a double whammy of lunar and Venus eclipses within 24 hours of each other.   The involvement of the nodes with this Venus Transit suggests that this astronomical moment in time will be quite significant.  Because the south node, Ketu, will manifest its shadow the day before the transit, it is the only planet that will have a negative effect on Venus. Its energy of dissolution may release old karmic patterns during the lunar eclipse which may then be transformed the next day by the conjunction of Venus in the heart of the Sun, called Cazimi.  When the Sun engulfs the energies of a planet in Cazimi, it is said to imbue the planet with the intensely positive and life-giving energy through the Sun, which draws its energy from the shakti of the nakshatras that it transits: Rohini where the great red star Aldebaran resides making up the eye of the bull in Taurus.  Aldebaran is believed to be the abode of Brahma and when it lines up with our Sun we receive its many blessings. 

Thus the thus deity associated with Rohini is Brahma, the Creator, "who can bestow everything, so we should be careful of what we want." According to David Frawley, "Rohini Nakshatra represents the gods, dharma and good fortune (Lakshmi) and is said to be the most fortunate of all Nakshatras for worldly affairs."

Rohini's shakti power is rohana shakti, growth -- as might be expressed in the Fibonacci sequence, phi, the sacred geometry of the pentagram that Venus draws in the heavens over the course of eight years, and the movement of Maya Shakti.  As we shall soon see this Venus Transit in Rohini may herald a provocative shift in how we use our creative energy to produce material and spiritual wealth.  Remember that the transformation of Venus from Evening Star to Morning Star is one from the goddess of love to the goddess of war (see my previous post on Venus Cycles).  I pray that Venus becomes a warrior goddess to fight against poverty, hunger, greed and the obscene corruption in the global banking and business worlds by lifting the veil of the dance of multiplicity so that we may see that we are indeed ONE.

Namaste! Jai Ma 

 

Venus Enters Taurus and Prepares for Morningstar Transformation

March 28-July 31, 2012 Venus enters sign of Taurus
Venus Retrograde March 15 - June 27, 2012
Venus Transit June 5-6, 2012

Venus entered its own sign of Taurus, the Bull, on March 28, 2012 and will remain there until July 31, 2012.  During this time it will transition from Evening star to Morning star completing its fifth and final synodic cycle of its 8 year pentagonal dance.   Taurus is a powerful sign for Venus as its earthy energy is able to manifest Venus' creative impulse on the physical plane.  Venus in Taurus brings comfort and ease to life.  But this Venus in Taurus must also go through the shamanic process of shifting from Evening Star to Morning Star.  During its transit in Taurus there may be upsets in the status quo  especially when Venus conjoins Ketu on April 9, 2012 and later becomes involved in a lunar eclipse on June 4, 2012 followed by its spectacular Venus Transit between June 5-6, 2012.  Venus IS the planet to watch for the most significant astronomical and astrological events of 2012.

The planet Venus has been referred to as the Morning Star or Evening Star for thousands of years.  As its orbit is closer to the Sun than the Earth's, it can never stray very far from its source of luminosity. Its twinkling presence may grace either the eastern horizon in the pre-dawn sky, or the western horizon just after sunset; and is never seen during the night. At most it is visible for a few hours before disappearing into the radiance of the day or evening twilight. A Venus Cycle describes its retrograde patterns that bring the planet into what's called combustion with the Sun. During this time Venus disappears from view on the earth for approximately 40 days.

As I have discussed in many previous posts (click here and here), ancient sky-watching cultures interpreted the periods of darkness when Venus disappears from view on the earth as a time when the "star" traveled to the the underworld. Mesoamericans linked the Morning phase of Venus with Quetzalcoatl and the Evening Star with his twin brother Xolotl. The Greeks called the morning star phase Phosphoros meaning "Bringer of Light," or Eosphoros, "Bringer of Dawn,” and the evening star phase was called Hesperos meaning "setting in the West." The ancient Babylonians called Venus the double-phased Ishtar -- the Morning Star of War and the Evening Star of Love. As Morning Star Venus was often represented as a bearded warrior bearing weapons. However, as an Evening Star the archetype shifts and becomes softer, more attuned to reconciliation, treaties, bringing communication and cooperation to whatever it is uniting.

Some of the earliest references to Venus are found on clay tablets dating as early as 3000 BC from Uruk, an important early Sumerian city in southern Iraq. In ancient Sumer the goddess Inanna was associated with the planet Venus and the Uruk tablets specify her celestial identity as Venus with the symbol of an eight-pointed star.

There are hymns dedicated to Inanna that describe as her astral manifestation of the planet Venus. It is also believed that the myths about Inanna correspond with the movements of the planet Venus in the sky. Inanna's Decent to the Underworld (click here) explains how Inanna is able to descend into the netherworld, pass through a series of tests, and return to the earth by ascending to the heavens. The planet Venus appears to make a similar descent, setting in the West and then rising again in the East. And during her journey to the underworld, the goddess Inanna passes through seven gates removing an article of clothing at each gate until she is completely naked exposing her bright beauty to the darkest realms.

As my partner Joseph poignantly reminded me: The clothing represents the constructs of our ego and aspects of our false self. It only feels like Hell if we are attached to our egos. By removing her clothes Innana strips down to her bare essence and is given the opportunity to connects to her true self. In order to exit the underworld, Inanna was required to select someone to leave behind in her place. Could this be her shadow? When Innana returned to her kingdom, she finds that her husband Dammuzi had showed no concern for her during her absence. Thus she sent her "unconscious" male aspect, or animus, down to the underworld in her place where he is beaten and gashed with axes. Could the two faces of the Sumerian Venus and cycles of Venus represent the shamanic process of dissolving the ego, anima, and animus to release the divine enlightened self?

This year Venus makes this journey through the heart of the Sun in full view to the Earth during a rare Venus Transit in June.  We will be able to symbolically witness the goddess remove 7 layers of clothing until she stands before us naked.  Because Venus is powerful in the sign of Taurus, this revelation of her true nature should prove to be astonishing.  However, because we are also in the middle of a solar maximum there may be plenty of shadows, such as sunspots, in her path.  Should one of those sunspots emit a solar flare it would be possible for the coronal mass ejection (CME) from the Sun to brush past Venus and hit the Earth.  In my opinion, this possible phenomenon could bring an increase threat for a world wide influenza (click here for more).  Thus we should all keep a close eye on this event.




Venus Transit and 2012 Themes
 2012 is perhaps one of the most highly anticipated years of the modern era due to wild apocalyptic speculations concerning the end date of both the Mayan calendar and Terrence McKenna's Timewave Zero: the Winter Solstice on December 21, 2012.  Most Mayan scholars dismiss the idea of cataclysmic events as depicted in the highly entertaining, but inaccurate movie called 2012, and a few like John Major Jenkins point to the astronomical alignment of the Winter Solstice with the Galactic Center suggesting that intergalactic waves of energy or information may bath the Earth and transform consciousness (for more see my previous post Understanding the End Dates of the Mayan Calendar).  Moreover, there are no predictions of catastrophe in any extant Mayan texts. Timewave Zero, or Novelty, is a mathematical formula developed by psychonaut Terrence McKenna, who theorized that the universe has an evolutionary process of increasing interconnectedness that reaches a singularity of infinite complexity when everything will occur simultaneously.  Based on his calculations using the King Wen I Ching, he believed that 2012 would be an "eschaton" in which a collapse of time would usher in a new time.   It is very easy to see how these two concepts became "interconnected" over the years.

What these two systems do share is the measurement of the fractal nature of time and mathematics related to the harmonic numbers of Venus cycles: 5, 8, and 13.  In a previous post I described how Venus cycles relate to Phi and Fibonnaci sequences which are also found in the Mayan calendars. Venus orbits the Sun 13 times during the period in which the Earth orbits the Sun 8 times.  As Venus orbits the Sun 13 times, while the Earth orbits the Sun 8 times, then Venus must pass the Earth 5 times during those 8 years completing 5 synodic periods in 8 years, or 5 complete morning star/eveningstar cycles that inscribe its mystical pentagram across the heavens.

In the Taoist philosophy of the I Ching, the number 8 represents all possibilities in manifestation within the bagua and the forces of the phenomenal world.  The 5 elements (which may more accurately be translated as 5 transitions) describe how these forces of nature, or energy waves, shifts within the lunar year of 13 moon cycles.

In Mayan cosmology and mythology Venus was the focus of the timing of ritual.  The ancient Maya tracked the Morningstar phases of Venus that occur every 584 days, with great accuracy.  Within one of the few surviving Mayan books called the Dresden Codex, are six pages of Venus Tables that describe a Venus Round and the Sacred Day of Venus.  1 Ahau was the sacred Day of Venus for the Maya.  Ahau means "lord," "light" or "Sun" suggesting that a Venus cycle maybe connected with an inferior conjunction of Venus with the Sun, or even a rare Venus Transit of the Sun.  I find the glyph of Ahau to be intriguing as it seems to represent the Sun emitting or being caught by a beam of light surrounded on either side with two dots, perhaps indicating the inner planets Mercury and Venus. Or these two dots could they represent the two phases of Venus that figure so prominently in Mayan lore.




It may be a surprise to some, but not those who understand the concept of synchronicity, that Terrence McKenna was born on November 18, 1946 (7:30 am, Hotchkiss, CO), a day before an inferior conjunction of Venus in Scorpio/Vishaka ,which was in a configuration much like the upcoming inferior conjunction and Transit of Venus of June 2012, involving the south node, Ketu.  I have no doubt that McKenna's natal line up of Sun, Venus Rx, Mercury Rx, Mars, and Ketu in Scorpio predisposed him to transcend ordinary consciousness through hallucinogens and navigate realities and consciousness that seem to be connected with Venus Cycles and Galactic and Universal Timewaves.  On December 21, 2012 transiting Venus will rejoin his natal Venus in Scorpio in a beautiful chance coincidence of time.

Venus Transit: June 5-6, 2012

Thus during 2012 the planet Venus is the certainly one to watch for the most significant astronomical and astrological events of the year: the Venus Transit. On June 5-6, 2012 Venus will make its astronomically rare transit across the face of the Sun appearing as a distinct black spot that is 1/32 of the diameter of the Sun.  It will be large enough to see without the aid of a telescope. This phenomenon occurs in a pattern that repeats every 243 years, with pairs of transits eight years apart separated by long gaps of 121.5 years and 105.5 years. The periodicity is a reflection of the fact that the orbital periods of Earth and Venus are close to 8:13 and 243:395 resonances.

The  2012 transit of Venus will begin a day after a partial Rahu lunar eclipse of a debilitated Moon in Scorpio/Jyestha with Ketu in Taurus/Rohini also "transiting" the Sun 11 degrees behind Venus.  In addition Jupiter and Mercury will also be transiting the sign of Taurus, but will be hidden behind the rays of the Sun and unable to touch Venus with their direct glance.  With so many planets connected with "consciousness" lined up and in combustion with the Sun, Venus is left alone to receive the Sun and Earth's full attention.

As Venus passes between the Sun and the Earth during a Venus transit, it is in essence very similar to a lunar eclipse.  So this time around we will be getting a double whammy of lunar and Venus eclipse.   The involvement of the nodes, which are markers for incarnation into the material field, with this Venus Transit suggests that this astronomical moment in time will be quite significant.  Because the south node, Ketu, will manifest its shadow the day before, it is the only planet that will have an effect on Venus. Its energy of dissolution may release old karmic patterns and materialistic bonds during the lunar eclipse which may then be transformed the next day by the conjunction of Venus in the heart of the Sun, called Cazimi.  When the Sun engulfs the energies of a planet in Cazimi, (Venus), it is said to imbue the planet with the intensely positive and life-giving energy and power of the Sun, who draws its energy from the shakti of the nakshatras that it transits: Rohini.

The previous Venus transit of 2004 also occurred in Taurus, but in the nakshatra of Mrigrashira which has a very different flavor than Rohini, also known as Surabhi - the celestial cow who is regarded as the source of all prosperity.   The fixed star associated with Rohini is the great Persian royal star Aldebaran, the "watcher of the east," and its residing deity of Rohini is Prajapati, the Creator who grants our deepest desires. Aldebaran is located in the eye of the Bull and is thus associated with sight, illumination and vision.  Brady believes that "this radiation of the Cosmic Bull implies that something will be destroyed or ruined, but then re-cosmogised, reborn, or remade afresh" which sounds very Mithraic to me.  She predicts that there may be another European or global currency/market crisis representing a harvest being destroyed. "This is a time when the heavenly patterns are indicating cosmogising -- destroying to remake afresh."
 
In the Vedic tradition, the power associated with this nakshatra is rohana shakti, growth -- as might be expressed in the Fibonacci sequence, phi, and the sacred geometry of the pentagram that Venus draws in the heavens over the course of 8 years. Rohini is also called the "star of ascent" that gives an increase in status in society, and perhaps to our souls. Thus this Venus Transit may instead herald a provocative shift in energy at that time in which we may be able to call upon the Creator and Universal forces for the star's gift of "ascension," be it material or spiritual, to be made manifest through Venus' shamanic transformation to Morning Star. Venus will remain in the Morning Star position through the end of the year, and travels to nearly the exact opposite side of the zodiac for the morning of the Winter Solstice, and completion of the Mayan Calendar in the nakshatra of Anuradha, whose symbols are the lotus and triumphal doorway.   Where will our brave Venus lead us?  That remains to be seen, but one this is for sure, Venus, the bringer of light, promises a beautiful dawn. Namaste!